From our other sites
The story
Sony’s gaming division and Nintendo both released earnings for April–September 2026, and Sony came out far ahead of Nintendo across sales, profit, and total software units sold. A thread comparing the two companies’ numbers went up on 5ch’s Hardware/Industry (Geha) board, sparking talk of a stark divide — “Sony, where third-party software sells like crazy, versus Nintendo, where only Nintendo’s own games sell.” But plenty of posters pushed back on the straight comparison, pointing out that Sony and Nintendo use different accounting methods for recognizing software sales and profit, which makes a direct number-for-number comparison misleading. The debate split the thread.
What people said
Sony (Gaming Division) FY2026 Apr–Sep
Revenue: ¥2.1036 trillion Profit: ¥422.0 billion Software units sold: 154.3 million
@6d6f636869
NEW: Nintendo's earnings came in weaker than market expectations. Analysts say Nintendo hasn't lined up enough software, and that the sales slowdown from the price hike has been bigger than expected. With only Zelda carrying the lineup, the holiday season looks tough too — the view is that Switch 2's overall momentum is fading faster than anticipated.
https://x.com/6d6f636869/status/2118247845564399712
NEW: Sony's earnings came in stronger than market expectations. Gaming, film, and music each posted major hits, creating a clean synergy effect where each division is lifting the others' revenue.
Sony, where third-party software sells like crazy
The gap got way too big
That's gross accounting for you
That's because Nintendo's first-party titles sell like crazy
https://www.installbaseforum.com/forums/threads/uk-sales-week-42-2026-oct-11-oct-17.4868/#post-446845
In the UK, 80% of Call of Duty sales are on PS
That's the trend worldwide outside Japan
so of course PlayStation's software unit numbers are high
delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete
Re: #14
The world's best-selling game, COD, only moves 3% of its units on Switch —
yeah, that's Nintendo for you
Sony counts download-only titles in its software unit totals. Nintendo excludes them
For third-party download sales, Sony books gross revenue while Nintendo books net revenue
Sure
have you actually worked in accounting at either of these two companies before saying that?
it probably wouldn't change much
maybe just that hide-and-seek game or whatever
It was funny how, thanks to Chameleon (a hide-and-seek style indie game), we found out that
even a top-ranked Switch 2 digital title isn't even selling 10,000 copies
Technically, no, you shouldn't
Japanese GAAP and IFRS define operating profit a bit differently in the fine print
and a company that can earn most of it on its own
That's a clear way to put it
PlayStation should be a little worried given every single first-party title of theirs bombed hard this year
oh wait, they're pulling out, so I guess it doesn't matter
but with PlayStation, you can't tell what's actually driving sales just by looking at it
microtransactions and PSN's platform cut (lit. "turf money," slang for platform fees) are the main drivers, but nobody breaks down what's actually in there
why would it need to compete with Sony, which already has one foot out the door of the gaming industry?
and apparently it's just one guy
doing all this Nintendo-vs-Sony rivalry-baiting
If that's what you want, Nintendo would have to ditch its current approach and build a budget/poor-man's console instead
Yet somehow they still
get jealous of FromSoftware and lock down exclusives,
and push "4K" ten years late —
that's just playing catch-up
I mean, they can just keep running with the PS5 as-is
and even if it does launch next year, there's 100% no chance it comes out cheap
Even "cheap" would mean $1,000 (something like ¥160,000 in Japan)
Comedian Hikaru Ijuin once said something like, "I can afford it, but I hate feeling like I spent that much and then barely used it"
if even people with money feel that way, there's no way ordinary folks or the general public are buying it
a hardware refresh isn't really mandatory
if they skip chasing a PS6, all that R&D and component cost
can go straight into the platform business instead
given the current balance of power in the industry, you could argue that's already how it's playing out
I wonder if it's even possible to pivot to a PC or smartphone platform at this point
Steam's just too dominant and it's way too much of a red ocean
Dropping them is probably exactly what's boosting the profit margin
"Okay sure, right now SIE's platform business with third parties is succeeding, and compared to that Nintendo leans on its own software, hasn't pushed digital sales or subscriptions much, and still has no sales channels in places like India or the Middle East — so yeah, we're losing for now, but in 100 years Switch 2 will have won"
and just leave it there, so why do they keep charging into a losing fight?
This is another case of someone cooking this up all alone with nobody to fact-check them,
so the delusions just keep getting worse
Second quarter standalone (3 months, July 1–September 30, 2026)
[Game & Network Services (G&NS)]
Revenue: ¥1,208.5 billion
Operating profit: ¥220.1 billion
[Music]
Revenue: ¥598.4 billion
Operating profit: ¥122.8 billion
[Pictures]
Revenue: ¥513.7 billion
Operating profit: ¥92.6 billion
[Entertainment, Technology & Services (ET&S)]
Revenue: ¥567.8 billion
Operating profit: ¥64.1 billion
[Imaging & Sensing Solutions (I&SS)]
Revenue: ¥577.6 billion
Operating profit: ¥154.6 billion
Consolidated total
Revenue: ¥3,429.4 billion
Operating profit: ¥622.3 billion
Profit before tax: ¥623.2 billion
Net profit: ¥449.6 billion
Yeah, no question —
gaming's the clear standout pillar, lol
If that bugs you, go contribute more to Nintendo then (lol)
Nishi-kuns don't care about Kirby, huh, lol
https://krsw.5ch.io/test/read.cgi/ghard/1789172934/8
8 Name: Anonymous (5ch's joke default display name, lit. "nameless guy getting desperate") [] Posted: 2026/09/12 (Sat) 09:59:23.73 ID:bX0OHMxm0
threads inconvenient for Nishi-kuns just go AAAAAAAARGH
Background and Key Points of This Debate
Articles that simply compare Nintendo’s and Sony’s (gaming division) earnings crop up regularly on the Hardware/Industry (Geha) board, but the difference in how the two companies account for things is often overlooked. As pointed out in the thread, Sony books revenue from download-only titles and third-party products on a gross basis, while Nintendo generally books on a net basis — so simply adding up or comparing unit sales and revenue figures head-to-head to talk about a “gap” isn’t really accurate. On top of that, Japanese accounting standards and IFRS (which Sony uses) calculate operating profit slightly differently in the details, so comparisons of profit margin need to be handled carefully too. Where the thread split was over whether it’s fair to compare the two without accounting for these differences, and over why Nintendo can maintain a high profit margin despite relying so heavily on first-party titles. Some comments speculated that Sony might not be in a rush to release a PS6, but that’s just speculation based on the earnings figures — neither company has made any official announcement about new hardware, which is something readers could easily misread.
*This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (Hardware/Industry (Geha)) thread “PS Revenue ¥2,145.6 Billion, Profit ¥422.1 Billion, Software 154.3 Million Units; Nintendo Revenue ¥966.0 Billion, Profit ¥216.5 Billion, Software 90.02 Million Units.”
Leave a Reply